One of the tech workers Disney laid off in January is meeting with Senate staffers Monday to describe his experience at Disney and dispel common misconceptions about the H-1B visa program.
The ex-Disney worker is meeting behind closed doors with Senate staffers from several offices, he told The Daily Caller News Foundation. These include Florida Democratic Sen. [crscore]Bill Nelson[/crscore], Republican Sen. [crscore]Jeff Sessions[/crscore] and Republican senator and presidential candidate [crscore]Ted Cruz[/crscore].
His goal is to personally “explain the Disney situation” and try to dispel four myths he says politicans are being “fed from the tech giants.” (RELATED: Qualcomm Lays Off 4,500 Workers While Demanding More H-1bs)
Nelson asked the Department of Labor to investigate the Disney layoffs, Sessions is a leading advocate for immigration policy that puts American workers first, and Cruz is an H-1B proponent who has worked to dramatically expand the program in the past.
The ex-Disney worker may also meet with staffers from the office of senior Republican Sen. [crscore]Charles Grassley[/crscore], another leading critic of the visa program who has led legislative efforts to fix the alleged abuses. (RELATED: Rubio Breaks Silence On Reports Of H-1B Abuses)
Here are the four myths tech giants and their lobbyists are using to defend the program from critics, according to the former Disney worker:
Myth: Disney is an anomaly. “This exact same situation is happening all over our state and country with most of the large Fortune 500 companies,” the laid-off worker said in an email to TheDCNF.
Myth: The laid-off workers aren’t as qualified for the job. “I hold numerous technical certifications and received the highest possible job performance rating while with Disney,” he added.
Myth: Disney creates other jobs the laid-off workers can apply for. “Disney job postings did not really exist,” he added. “Out of the several hundred IT workers displaced, only three received a new IT job.”
Myth: There is a dire shortage of skilled American tech workers. “IT salaries have steadily decreased due to a low demand of U.S. IT workers,” he said. “And many IT jobs that do still exist in this country require that U.S. IT workers have the ability to work well with foreign offshore and onshore groups.”
He and hundreds of his fellow “Cast Members” were laid off in January and allegedly blacklisted from employment at other Disney-solicited contractors, after Disney forced them to train their foreign replacements. Several of the workers filed official complaints with the Department of Labor, spurring an ongoing investigation into Disney and other companies’ alleged abuse of the H-1B visa program.
The stated intent of the visa program is to help companies bring in high-skilled foreign workers for jobs Americans can’t fill. But some companies including Disney, Southern California Edison, Fossil Group and Catalina Marketing, are allegedly using it to cut labor costs. (RELATED: Feds Expand Investigation Of H-1b Abuses As Calls For Action Intensify)
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